14/08/2026
**I Thought I Was Just Useless at Growing Food**
Have you ever stood in your garden with the hose in your hand, looking at another struggling plant and thought, *What am I doing wrong?*
I have.
One summer I felt like I did nothing but water. Some days the plants needed it two or three times, yet they still wilted, pests moved in and the vegetables barely produced.
I bought fertilisers and followed the instructions. At first, the leaves would green up and I’d think, *Righto, maybe I’ve cracked it.*
Then the boost disappeared and we were back where we started. More fertiliser, more seedlings, more water and another plant being tipped into the compost.
Then one day, sitting in a doctor’s surgery, I picked up a magazine and read something that stayed with me:
**Feed the soil**
That sent me down a very deep rabbit hole. I spent thousands on courses and workshops, completed a Permaculture Design Certificate with Geoff Lawton and volunteered on a biodynamic farm.
I learned that many fertilisers are concentrated mineral salts. When those salts build up, they can damage soil life and make it harder for roots to take up water. It made sense to me because salty water leaves my own mouth feeling thirsty.
My plants didn’t need fertiliser or water. The soil underneath them needed life.
I took what I learned back to that same rocky ground. The worms returned. Rock began weathering, the soil held moisture for longer and plants that once needed watering several times a day could eventually manage with a deep watering once a week.
The soil was finally doing some of the heavy lifting.
That is why I use living bioferments and why I created The Growers Guild. Living ferments support the tiny living workforce beneath our plants as part of a complete system using compost, mulch, moisture and diverse planting.
If you’re constantly watering, feeding and rescuing your garden, you’re not necessarily a bad gardener.
**You might not need a stronger fertiliser. Your soil might need more life.**
**Feed the soil. Feed the plant. Feed your life.**
